As of 22 August, 10 square kilometres in Dnipropetrovsk Region remained under occupation — three villages. Ukrainian defenders have liberated the rest of the territory.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said this at a meeting with journalists, an LB correspondent reports. The counter-offensive operation on the Oleksandrivsk axis began to be planned back in the autumn of last year, and implementation started in early December.
“In addition, we are currently conducting another operation in a different sector of the front. The result will be by the end of August. We believe that in 2026 we will reach an equal amount of Ukrainian territory — in kilometres — that is temporarily occupied by the Russians and that has been liberated by us. At present, 990 square kilometres have been occupied since the start of the year, and we have restored control over 820 square kilometres. But by the end of 2026 we will reach parity in the number of kilometres. That is, our Defence Forces are reclaiming Ukrainian land — this is very important, and this balance matters to us both politically and in diplomacy,” the President of Ukraine noted.
Zelenskyy said that since the start of the year Russia’s losses have totalled 267,000 people, including about 155,000 killed.
“The enemy’s main direction is Kostiantynivka, Sloviansk, Kramatorsk. They have not achieved their goal, but this direction will be their main one this year and beyond. In another direction, their goal now is a ‘buffer zone’ in the Kharkiv–Sumy areas. The enemy has not achieved this goal either,” he said.
Defence Forces Offensive on the Oleksandrivsk Axis
Since January this year, Ukraine’s army has been conducting an offensive on the Oleksandrivsk axis. It is important for Russia in order to fully occupy Donetsk Region. The enemy tried to advance along the Donetsk–Zaporizhzhia highway, break through towards the Pokrovsk area to facilitate the capture of Huliaipole, Viktor Kevliuk explained.
On 16 February, the then Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi confirmed that in the Huliaipole area the Defence Forces had launched a counter-offensive. According to France 24, over four days the Ukrainian army took control of 200 square kilometres.
As of 12 August, defenders had liberated 26 settlements. That is 745 square kilometres.
On 17 August, the 5th Assault Brigade said that after losing positions on the Oleksandrivsk axis, the enemy did not stop applying pressure on the Huliaipole axis. Heavy fighting continues there, and the Defence Forces are holding back the offensive under constant enemy fire.